I pulled at my own clothes as he swooped down, preparing to shift and rip this piece of shit apart myself as the crowd ran for cover. But before I could, I was knocked back by several agents as they shoved me towards the edge of the stage.
“You need to get out of here, sire!” one of them cried as I struggled against their grip.
“The rebels are here,” another said anxiously.
Dante leapt down, dropping his wing and Portia dove onto it, clinging on tight as she scrambled up onto his back like he was some common pack mule and I spat a snarl as the agents continued to wrestle me out the way of danger. But I would face it head on. I would destroy that blasted Dragon and kill every member of his family in a bloody massacre he would never forget just as soon as I found them.
Dante turned and leapt back out of the hole, disappearing into the raging storm beyond just like that and I was left roaring my anguish to the stars, vowing on every last one of them that I would have my revenge for this. And it would be a merciless, gory thing.
I headed to dinner, unsure where Orion had gotten to and taking my Atlas out to shoot him a message. No response came and I pouted, but my mood brightened as I checked FaeBook and scrolled through post after post about Lionel’s humiliation at his interview, #lamelionel trending like crazy.
Gabriel hadn’t told us a single word about it, but he’d been heavily involved in the plans to sabotage the whole thing and had encouraged us to watch the interview before disappearing off with Dante last might. We’d laughed our asses off the entire time, and when they’d all shown up back here with Portia Silverstone in tow, the whole of The Burrows had erupted in cheers. I was never going to forget the way Lionel had squirmed on that stage, and it had made me proud as hell to see my dad tearing him down to size at school – like, literally down to size.
I pushed my Atlas back into my pocket and turned down a passage that was a secret shortcut to the dining hall which me and Tory had created to make it simpler to get there and back from the royal quarters. The darkness was thick down here and I cast a Faelight above my head, the amber orb bobbing along above my head, pressing the shadows away in a ring around me, but beyond them I could see nothing at all.
Something moved up ahead and I squinted towards it, wondering if some of my friends were here, but when I called out, no one replied.
I guided magic to my fingertips, thinking of the brutal murders that had been happening down in these tunnels, my pulse rising as I prepared to blast an attacker into the afterlife. I wasn’t afraid to keep walking. I’d been trained by a queen of old, I knew the depths of my power now, and I could take on some cowardly Fae who slunk through the dark and cut down my allies.
“Come out,” I commanded in a growl.
A whoosh of air made my hair swirl around me and I sucked in a breath, turning sharply, certain something had passed me. And it had felt awfully like-
“You shouldn’t be wandering around in the dark alone, Blue. What if there was a monster lurking down here?” Orion growled and a relieved laugh left me as he came up behind me, closing his arm around my waist in a snare, his fangs grazing down my neck.
“Then I’d kill it,” I said, a shiver darting along my flesh as I let my head fall to the side in an offering.
“And what if the monster is me?” he asked, his breath on my neck making me heady as he toyed with biting me.
“You’re not a monster, Lance,” I teased and a rumble of a growl in his chest made goosebumps rise across my skin.
“No? But you’re a princess, so maybe I’m the cruel beast who wants to keep you locked up in a tower.”
“You wouldn’t be able to keep me locked up,” I countered.
“True…” he conceded.
“So what’s your next move?”
“I suppose I’ll be your vicious attack dog and destroy anyone who touches you,” he said, a grin in his voice.
“You could get arrested for that,” I said lightly, fighting another shiver as he dragged his fangs up to the sensitive skin behind my ear.
“That would be quite awful.”
“Yeah, I can imagine,” I said dryly and he laughed deep in his throat.
As he went to bite me, I twisted fast in a move Queen Avalon had taught me, wrenching myself out of his hold and turning to face him, my Faelight following me as I backed up with a challenging smile on my face.
“Come bite me in the dining hall,” I offered and the playful look in his eyes melted away.
“You know I can’t do that.”